Amsterdam – Baldwin & Cradock, 1835

“Amsterdam,” steel engraving published by Baldwin & Cradock in 1835 for the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge (S.D.U.K.). Original hand colouring with later additions. Size: 33 × 39 cm.

This engraving was included as number 162 in a series of 218 maps published in various editions of Maps of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge (S.D.U.K.).

The S.D.U.K. was founded in 1827 by the English politician and social reformer Lord Henry Peter Brougham (1778–1868). The society’s aim was to promote popular education and the diffusion of knowledge among the public. In 1825, Brougham published the pamphlet Practical Observations upon the Education of the People, in which he set out his ideas. One means of achieving this goal was through the publication of instructive and educational literature. The Society focused primarily on the lower English classes of the nineteenth century. In 1826 the first meeting of a General Committee was held, and a year later the first map appeared. A formally operating Map Committee was established in November 1828.

The maps for the S.D.U.K. atlases were sometimes issued individually, but more often in installments. In this way, the “ordinary man” did not have to spend too much money at once and could gradually assemble a personal atlas over time. This also explains why bound editions appear in many variants: issues in one, two, or three volumes, each with differing imprints and title pages.

Above the main map is a topographically inaccurate inset titled “Plan of the Environs of Amsterdam”. To the upper left of this inset is an English translation of fifteen Dutch place names appearing on the map itself. Below the map are fourteen of the city’s principal buildings, giving the whole a somewhat playful appearance. Curiously, by 1835 three of these fourteen buildings no longer existed: the East India Warehouse had collapsed in 1822; the Waag on the Dam had been demolished in 1808 by order of Lodewijk I; and the Haringpakkerstoren was torn down in 1829 due to structural decay. The Royal Palace on the Dam is still labeled Hotel de Ville, although it was already in use as a royal residence.

Price: Euro 295,-